Yoga for Athletes: 3 Post-Workout Poses

Recover from your workout with these three poses that stretch out tension, restore flexibility, and calm your nervous system.

Often the only thing you want to do when you’ve done a tough workout is get home to refuel and relax. But, whether your workout involves lifting weights, long distance running, or hill sprints, doing these three poses after your workout will benefit your body, mind, and performance.

Find a quiet space in the gym, tune into your breath, and relax into each pose passively for two minutes each (- 10-20 breaths if you’re breathing optimally).

Melting Heart

This is a great pose if you’re feeling tight in your shoulders or have been doing any overhead work with dumbbells, kettlebells or barbells. Start on your hands and knees and, making sure your hips stay stacked above your knees, slide your fingers forwards and let your chest sink down towards the ground. Focus on relaxing your shoulders, chest, and upper back.

Dragon Flying Low

If you have tight hips or have been doing squats or lunges in your workout, this pose will give you a great release through your hip flexors and hamstrings. Start on hands and knees and step your right foot to the outside of your right hand. Either stay here and relax into the pose or, if you can, make your way down to rest on your forearms. Keep you upper body relaxed too. Repeat with your left leg forwards.

Happy Baby

This pose combines a lovely hip opener, hamstring stretch, and inversion. Begin lying on your back and take hold of your big toes. Use your arm strength to draw your knees towards your armpits, keeping the soles of your feet facing the sky.

We offer Yoga Gym workshops and seminars for athletes and sports teams who would like to improve performance and enhance recovery. For more information and success stories please see Yoga Gym Sport.

Personalised online yoga and mobility coaching plans are also available for athletes here.